The Universe through Medieval Eyes

Excerpt: The way an educated person eight hundred years ago might think about the world. What did they think about space? What did they think the world was made of? What kind of creatures lived in the world?

Professor Robert Bartlett of St Andrews University speaks on how medieval people perceived the world – how they felt about different lands and animals, about the solar system, and astrology, etc. He’s trying to show how in some ways their view of the world was very distorted, although this was through lack of information rather than stupidity. The talk is wide-ranging, informative and frequently very funny.